In-car Satellite Navigation Units - Which Features To Look For When Buying A Sat Nav

Do you ever find yourself driving through a place you're not used to and becoming totally lost? Yeah, I've been in that situation too, until I got my own a car sat nav unit. Determining which one to buy can be confusing though, and that's where this article comes in.
Main Automobile GPS Navigation Unit Features
There are a bunch of feature which are standard in virtually all GPS units these days, and without which, the unit would be practically useless. These include:
Touch Screen: When you're driving, it's important to be able to select options quickly and easily, and a touch screen is the best way to do this.
Route Maps Built In: If your new Sat nav system doesn't know the area where you live, it would be pretty useless wouldn't it?
Spoken Directions: You can't keep stopping and looking at where the Sat nav unit says you should go, you need a voice to tell you, "turn left", "turn right", etc.
Additional Vehicle GPS Navigation System Features
In addition to the usual Sat nav features mentioned above, there are several additional features you may want to look out for, e.g.:
Points of Interest (POI): Sometimes you don't just want to be told what directions to take; you also want to know about any interesting sights to look out for. For instance, if you're on vacation in a particular area that you've never been to before, you'll want to know the various important historical monuments, or you may just want to know where the best entertainment venues are.
Hands-free Calling: It's dangerous to talk on the phone while you are driving. Several GPS unit now come with the ability to be connected to your phone, letting you talk without having to touch your phone.
Lane Guidance: Several Sat nav units these days can give you extra help to stay in the correct lane on busy roads. This means you won't miss your exit.
The Main In-Car Satellite Navigation Manufacturers and their Product Ranges
Another thing worth considering when getting a new car GPS unit is the make. Here are the main car Sat nav brands, along with a quick note on the range of GPS units they make:
Garmin: $60-$3,000. Major Sat nav company. More than 200 gps systems on the market. Very large range.
TomTom: $80-$1,000. Main Sat nav make. More than 100 gps systems available. Large price range.
Kenwood: $320-$1,200. Quite a good range of sat navs. A lot of of them are quite high end GPS units.
Pioneer: $350-$850. Again, a similar range of products to Kenwood. Good range of high end gps systems.
JVC: $100-$1,000. Not many sat navs, but covers a broad price range.
Sony: $200-$840. Similar to JVC. Not many gps units, wide price range.
Boss Audio: $165-$195. Only a few models on the market, but they do have very big screens which also function as full-on in-car multimedia devices, e.g. for watching DVDs.
Audiovox: $80-$270. Not a lot of products available.
Escort: $670. Only 1 product available, made to look like a replacement rear-view mirror.

By: Benjamin Donnington

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